List of Harry Potter characters


This is a list of characters from the Harry Potter series. Each character appears in at least one Harry Potter–related book or story by J. K. Rowling. These books and stories include the seven original Harry Potter novels, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through the Ages, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Short Stories from [Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists], Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies, Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide and the Harry Potter prequel.

Characters by surname

A

A

  • – Gigantic spider capable of human speech. Raised by Rubeus Hagrid. A wolf spider discovered in Iran, Lycosa aragogi, was named after him.

    B

  • – The ghost of Slytherin House. He murdered Helena Ravenclaw, then killed himself. He wears chains as a reminder of his crime, and is one of the few characters at Hogwarts who can control Peeves. The Bloody Baron is portrayed by Terence Bayler in the film adaptation of ''Philosopher's Stone.''

    D

  • – House-elf belonging to the Malfoy family. In Chamber of Secrets, he tries to discourage Harry from returning to Hogwarts. Harry later tricks Lucius Malfoy into setting Dobby free, which earns Harry the elf's undying loyalty. In Goblet of Fire, Dobby works at Hogwarts and helps Harry with the second task of the Triwizard Tournament. When Harry and his friends are captured by Death Eaters in Deathly Hallows, Dobby rescues them. During the escape, he is killed by Bellatrix Lestrange. The entertainment website IGN described Dobby's death as one of the most emotional moments in the film series. Dobby is voiced by Toby Jones in the Harry Potter films.

    F

  • – The ghost of Hufflepuff House. He is cheerful and helpful towards students. He is portrayed by Simon Fisher-Becker in the film adaptation of Philosopher's Stone.
  • – Phoenix belonging to Albus Dumbledore. Fawkes saves Harry from the Basilisk inside the Chamber of Secrets. In Order of the Phoenix, Fawkes saves Dumbledore's life by swallowing a killing curse from Voldemort. He then bursts into flame and is reborn from the ashes. The wands of both Harry and Voldemort contain a feather from Fawkes's tail. The phoenix is named after the 17th-century conspirator Guy Fawkes.
  • – Centaur who becomes a professor of Divination in Order of the Phoenix. The character is based on Steve Eddy, Rowling's former English teacher, who attempted to discourage her from writing fantasy stories. Firenze is voiced by Ray Fearon in the film adaptation of Philosopher's Stone. Firenze has been compared to the centaur Chiron of Greco-Roman mythology.

    G

  • – The ghost of Ravenclaw House. In life, she was Helena Ravenclaw, the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw. After stealing her mother's diadem, she was killed by the Bloody Baron. The Grey Lady is portrayed by Nina Young in the film adaptation of Philosopher's Stone, and by Kelly Macdonald in Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
  • – Gringotts goblin who is captured by Snatchers in Deathly Hallows. With the assistance of Harry and Dobby, Griphook and several other prisoners escape from Malfoy Manor. Griphook then helps Harry break into Gringotts in exchange for the Sword of Gryffindor, but he later betrays Harry and his friends. Griphook dies in the film adaptation of the novel. He is portrayed by Verne Troyer in the film adaptation of Philosopher's Stone and by Warwick Davis in Deathly Hallows Part 1 and Part 2.

    H

  • – Harry's snowy owl, whom he got as a birthday gift from Rubeus Hagrid in Philosopher's Stone. She is killed in the Battle of the Seven Potters near the beginning of Deathly Hallows.

    N

  • – Voldemort's massive snake that does his bidding. He communicates with her by speaking Parseltongue, the language of snakes. She is one of his Horcruxes. In Deathly Hallows, Nagini devours Charity Burbage, the Hogwarts Muggle Studies professor. Nagini is later placed inside the corpse of Bathilda Bagshot, which enables a surprise assault on Harry when he visits Godric's Hollow. Nagini is slain by Neville Longbottom during the Battle of Hogwarts. The prequel film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald reveals that Nagini was once a cursed woman who eventually transformed into a snake. The human Nagini is portrayed by Claudia Kim in the film.

    P

  • – A mischievous Hogwarts poltergeist. Rowling has explained that Peeves is not a ghost, but rather an "indestructible spirit of chaos". Throughout the series, Peeves only listens to a select few individuals: Albus Dumbledore, the Bloody Baron, Nearly Headless Nick and Fred and George Weasley. The Hogwarts caretaker, Argus Filch, repeatedly tries to remove him from the castle. However, Rowling stated in an interview that not even Dumbledore would be able to remove Peeves from Hogwarts forever. Peeves was portrayed by Rik Mayall in the film adaptation of Philosopher's Stone, but his scenes were cut from the finished film.

    R

  • Madam Rosmerta – Proprietor of The Three Broomsticks in the village of Hogsmeade. Portrayed by Julie Christie in the film adaptation of Prisoner of Azkaban.

    W

  • – House-elf who belonged to the Crouch family.